Chicken Piccata

This is an all time favorite in our house and definetly a must make when my brother visits! The chicken and noodles pair so well with the light lemony sauce, this dish really is one of our comfort foods!


Ingredients:

1 Lb Skinless, Boneless chicken breast filets (extra thin)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 
2 Cups chicken stock
1 Tablespoon dried Parsley

1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (optional)

I Tablespoon Red Chili Flakes (optional)

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 bags of the extra wide egg noodles

Directions:

In a large pot of boiling salted water, add the extra wide egg noodles and cook until just tender. Rinse and keep in pot. If you will keep these for a while before eating, add a bit of butter to it. I prefer to cook noodles just before eating.

Take the chicken and wash and pat dry it. If you can’t find extra thin breast filets, use the regular chicken breasts but pound them out to be thin. Season both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne (if you are using it).

Mix the sauce ingredients by combining chicken stock, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, salt, pepper, and red chili flakes and set aside.

Take the flour and add salt, pepper, and half red chili flakes (depends how hot you want it). Reserve 1 table spoon of flour for later.  Dredge the chicken filets in the flour and place on a clean dry plate.

Heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil.  Add the chicken and brown on both sides for 2-3 minutes per side depending on thickness and until cooked through. Let the chicken rest on a plate after it’s cooked.  Once all the chicken is browned, add the remaining olive oil to the pan and add the reserved flour and cook for 2 minutes. Once the flour and olive oil mix has cooked and is slightly light brown, add the sauce mixture and reduce heat to low.

Cook sauce for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened. Add the chicken back in the sauce and simmer on low for 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken even more at this point.

To serve: plate the noodles up and place one chicken breast on top of noodles and pour some sauce over.

You could add sautéed mushrooms if you like.

Enjoy and take the Thyme to Savor!

Italian Wedding Soup...

I have become a really big fan of soup lately.  It makes it even better that the hubby and kids enjoy this one too; the kids because its just soup and the hubby because it is actually filling! Imagine that!

This is a recipe I have modified a bit to make it point friendly on Weight Watchers.  Just a few minor changes and it doesn't cost so many points but still tastes delicious.  The original recipe can be found here by the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network. 

Ingredients:

1/2 Lbs. Ground Chicken, extra lean

1/4 Lbs. Chicken Sausage (I like the spicy ones)

2/3 Cup Bread Crumbs

2 Cloves Garlic, Minced

3 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, Chopped

1/4 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

3 Tablespoon Reduced Fat Milk

1 Egg White

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Pepper

1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flake (optional)

2 Teaspoon Olive Oil

1 Cup Onions, Chopped

1/2 Cup Celery, Chopped

1/2 Cup Carrots, Chopped

10 Cups Chicken Stock

1 Cup Dried Pasta (small shaped)

1/4 Cup Fresh Dill, Chopped

1 Cup Fresh Spinach, Chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, parmesan, milk, egg white, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don't have to be perfectly round but should be fairly small since they will soak up the stock and get bigger.) Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan (optional).

Note: If you use freshly grated parmesan cheese and have some cheese rinds left over, add those in to the soup when you add the stock.  It will give it an additional depth of flavor, just make sure you fish those out before serving! :)

Enjoy and don't forget to take the Thyme to Savor every bite!

Kebob Pita Pockets

So here goes.. my first post on my new food blog! We decided to have Indian Style Kebob Pita Pockets!  These are so delicious, I really hope you give them a try!

Ingredients:
1/2 Lbs. Ground Turkey Meat (or any other ground meat you like)
3 Teaspoon Garlic, Minced
1 Small Jalapeno, Minced (more for more  heat)
1 Teaspoon Fresh Ginger, Minced

3 Tablespoon Fresh Cilantro, Chopped

2 Teaspoon Ground Tumeric

4 Teaspoon Ground Coriander

2 Teaspoon Garam Masala

1/2 Teaspoon Tandoori Masala (optional)

1 Teaspoon Salt (more or less depending on your family's taste)

1/8 Cup Vegetable Oil

Lemon Juice

Shredded Lettuce

Chopped Tomatoes

Chopped Red Onions

Pita Bread Pockets

Spicy Sour Cream Sauce (Recipe is below)

Directions:

Mix everything except the oil together into the ground meat.  Let this mixture marinate for at least a few hours but if you can marinate overnight, the kebobs will taste even better.  Once the meat has marinated and you are ready to begin, heat the oil in a large frying pan.  Make bite size meatballs and add to the pan.  Allow the meatballs to brown on all sides and until cooked through.  Once cooked, remove from the pan and onto a paper towel lined dish and allow the extra oil to drain.

While the meatballs are draining, heat your pita pockets and make the spicy sour cream sauce.

Spicy Sour Cream Sauce:

1/2 Cup Sour Cream
2 Table Spoon Siracha Hot Sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Mix all ingredients together and set aside.

Once your pita pockets are heated through, cut the top open and spread about 1 Tablespoon of sour cream sauce on the inside.  Add the meatballs and shredded lettuce, onions, and tomatoes.  Top with more sauce if you like! Enjoy...

And make sure to take the Thyme to Savor...

Welcome to Thyme to Savor!!

Welcome to Thyme to Savor.  I have been addicted to so many wonderful cooking blogs out there for quite some time.  I love to cook and bake and have been in the kitchen since I was a very small girl helping my mom with daily meals.  It was only after I got married, did I really find my true passion for good ingredients and delicious food.  Since then, I have been searching for new recipes and methods to have healthy (not always) meals for my family. 

Being parents of 2 1/2 year old twins, savoring our food is not an option and dinner time usually consists of eating as fast as we can before the next emergency hits.  Therefore, we take the Thyme to Savor delicious foods, every chance we get!

I hope you feel just as inspired by my recipes as I have with the various food blogs I read.  I really hope this is a place you visit often and if you decide you feel inspired enough to try a dish or two (or three!), please come back and leave a comment.  I would love to hear about your experience and what your family thought!